In my review for the current issue of Academe of Bill Ferster’s new book , Teaching Machines: Learning from the Intersection of Technology and Education, I write, “Ferster presents three great but distinct advantages to technology in education: increased accessibility (starting with the use of the mail for correspondence courses), potentially lowered costs, and improved classroom efficiency. He also illustrates its greatest danger: belief that…
On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced The College for All Act, legislation that would eliminate undergraduate tuition at public colleges and expand work-study programs to help students at private universities. The bill also calls for a reduction in interest rates on federal student loans to stop the government from profiting off of lending to young…
Earlier this month, two items appeared on the same day on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s website. The first article was written by Charles Huckabee and concerns the decision by Smith College to consider and admit transgender applicants who identify as female. Several years ago, Smith had generated controversy first by rejecting a transgender applicant…
The following is the Executive Summary of a report issued by the California Faculty Association, which represents all faculty in the 23-campus California State University system. The report is the fourth and final one in a series. To see the entire series go to http://www.calfac.org/race-to-the-bottom Over the last decade, the administration of the California State…
In a recent op-ed published in the New York Times, Joe Nocera examines the increasing tension between the priorities of faculty and of alumni donors who want to create a nationally prominent athletics program at Rutgers University. Here are several paragraphs from the middle of the column, which is titled, “At Rutgers, It’s Books vs.…
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a new report titled Years of Cuts Threaten to Put College Out of Reach for More Students. Prepared by Michael Mitchell and Michael Leachman, the report shows that the decline in state support for public colleges and universities was exacerbated by the Great Recession of 2008,…
The Huffington Post has just published “One Venn Diagram That Every College Graduate Should Give a Good Long Look”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/14/college-graduate-venn-diagram_n_7286722.html. It provides a humorous look at the sometimes difficult transition from the quasi-adulthood of one’s college years to full adulthood in the much more demanding workaday world. Although the Venn Diagram is humorous and undoubtedly…
On May 8, 2015, Jeffrey Sparshott’s article “Congratulations, Class of 2015. You Are the Most Indebted Ever {For Now)” was published in the Wall Street Journal [http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/05/08/congratulations-class-of-2015-youre-the-most-indebted-ever-for-now/]. The article draws on a report produced by Edvisors [https://www.edvisors.com/], a website that provides a broad variety of resources on financial aid, including loans, for prospective and current…
Mary Ellen Mazey, the President of Bowling Green State University, recently contributed an op-ed to the Toledo Blade. The op-ed is titled “Affordable Higher Education Is Key to Ohio’s Future.” In the op-ed, President Mazey addresses several realities that have been repeatedly highlighted over the last quarter century—that is, for as long as I have…
New Jersey Policy Perspective has released a new report that links decreased state support of public higher education and falling wages to increased student-loan debt: “New Jersey students and families continue to have a hard time affording the high cost of a college education, thanks to lackluster state support for public colleges and universities. New…